The City Council on Wednesday approved $4.2 million in contracts with four companies tasked with reducing a backlog of 4,000 rape kits that remain untested by the Houston Police Department crime lab.

Just $475,000 was allocated this fiscal year, meaning the backlog is unlikely to be closed soon , although HPD has worked with the Harris County District Attorney's Office to prioritize and expedite testing of cases in which suspects are identified.

“It's hard to feel encouraged about something that has taken so long to resolve and so many millions of tax dollars, but we are making progress, and I am glad at that,” Mayor Annise Parker said Wednesday.

The backlog developed as the number of cases exceeded the crime lab's capability over time. Councilman C.O. Bradford, who was the police chief when many of the crime lab's problems surfaced initially, said this is another example of why the city needs an independent crime lab.

“I know that police chiefs, across America, none that I've seen are qualified to oversee those type of operations,” he said. “We don't have the training, we don't have the type of background.”